Winter Feeding of Water Birds on Yerevan Lake

Project time period:

2002-X

Project Description:

Winter is the most unfavorable period for birds, especially for water birds. Low temperatures, difficult access to food, and short duration of daylight hours serve as the basic negative factors in this period for the vital activity of birds. In addition to natural difficulties, ducks in Armenia also bear anthropogenic influences – among them the construction of on-shore reservoirs, hunting, and poaching out of the hunting season.

A large number of wild ducks gather on YerevanLake. According to the winter water bird counting done by specialists on Lake Sevan and Ararat valley, comparatively fewer wild ducks are left in these places, because they are constantly troubled by fishing boats on Lake Sevan and they are harassed and shot by hunters and poachers in Ararat valley. Fortunately, on YerevanLake these types of disturbance are absent. Nevertheless, ducks still have to fly from YerevanLake to the water reservoirs of Ararat valley in search of food and there they often fall by hunters’ bullets.

Starting from 2002, we have conducted annual winter feeding for water birds in order to keep the ducks on Yerevan Lake.